by Diane Gaston
She was simply making conversation, he realised. She’d seen some of his pain and had changed the subject to free him of it. He willingly let her steer the talk to Edinburgh and described all he’d done there to get the best prices he could for her family’s possessions.
Oxmont Castle came into sight and Lucas regretted he’d soon lose her company. To reach the castle they had to walk through a small wood with tall trees whose autumn leaves made a canopy of orange and red. Ahead of them, a figure emerged from another path. When they came closer they saw it was Hargreave.
He greeted Mairi with a smile. ‘Why, Miss Wallace, what a pleasure to encounter you in these lovely woods. Whatever are you doing here?’ He glanced at Lucas, but did not ask the obvious question of why she was strolling the grounds with the family butler.
‘We were searching for my sister, Davina,’ she responded, her voice tightening.
‘Your sister?’ Hargreave’s expression turned to one of concern. ‘Is your sister lost?’
Lucas broke in. ‘Did you see her, sir?’
Hargreave hesitated a moment before turning to Mairi to answer. ‘Why, I did earlier. I did not go hunting, you see, preferring to take a long walk. I assure you, she was not lost. She was with your brother and Lord Crawfurd’s son. Did something happen of which I am not aware?’
‘No,’ Mairi said. ‘All is well.’
‘Are you heading back to the house?’ Hargreave asked.
She hesitated as if reluctant to reply. ‘We are.’
He extended his arm. ‘Then allow me to escort you. It would be my pleasure.’
She darted a glance at Lucas, one that seemed to say she did not find any pleasure in his escort. There was nothing Lucas could do but drop back and follow them.
When they reached the house, Hargreave continued to escort Mairi up the stairs. Lucas used the servants’ stairs and emerged in the hallway as Hargreave was leaving Mairi’s door. The two men were alone in the hallway.
‘Well, Lucas,’ Hargreave said with false cheer. ‘What a surprise to see you here at Oxmont Castle.’
Lucas ignored the man’s remark. ‘I am glad to have this moment alone with you.’ He fell in step with Hargreave as they strolled towards another wing of the house.
‘Well?’ Hargreave asked as they turned the corner and entered another corridor. He looked amused.
Lucas blocked his path. ‘You were seen with Davina today. Her brother found her with you, not the other way around. Do not dally with that child, do you hear me, Hargreave? Stay away from her.’
Hargreave laughed. ‘You are saying this to me?’
Lucas raised his voice. ‘I am and you will listen to me, sir. She is fourteen. Fourteen. Stay away from her.’
Behind Hargreave’s back Lucas noticed Hargreave’s valet turn the corner and step into the hallway, but the man retreated immediately.
Hargreave’s expression blackened. ‘Who are you to order me around?’
Lucas leaned in closer. ‘I serve that family and I will not see them hurt in any way. Not by you or anyone.’
‘You are that attached to them?’ Hargreave smirked. ‘To the daughters, I would guess, ludicrous as that is.’ He patted Lucas’s arm condescendingly. ‘Do not worry about Miss Davina, Sassenach. It is not the younger one who interests me, pretty though she is.’
Lucas pushed him against the wall, pinning him there. ‘Do not cross me in this, Hargreave. I’ve seen your kind before.’ He released him. ‘And dealt with them.’
Hargreave straightened his clothing. ‘I could have you arrested for assaulting your betters!’
‘Try it, Hargreave.’ Hargreave was not his better. ‘I will explain what provoked it. Your attempt at seducing the innocent child of a baron.’
Hargreave laughed again. ‘She was a shameless flirt.’
Lucas leaned forward again. ‘Say another word like that and I will flatten you.’
Hargreave dusted himself off. ‘We shall see who gets the better of whom.’
Chapter Seventeen
In the drawing room before dinner there were even more guests who’d arrived that day, but Hargreave waited only for Miss Wallace. When he saw her walk in, he was ready with a glass of wine for her.
He crossed the room to her and handed her the wine. ‘I assume your sister is accounted for still?’ He smiled.
‘Yes.’ She took the glass. ‘She is with the young people in another room for the evening.’
‘Your sister is a charming girl.’ Very charming. And nubile. One of the new guests greeted him and he acknowledged the man with a nod. He turned back to Miss Wallace. ‘Your butler helped you search for your sister?’
‘Yes.’ She seemed puzzled he would ask.
Hargreave had taken a dislike to the man even before he had acted the ruffian with him. There was something in the butler’s demeanour, even back at Dunburn House.
Arrogance? No, not quite.
‘He seems an encroaching sort, do you not think?’ he said to Miss Wallace. ‘Not quite knowing his place.’
The butler certainly had acted out of place that morning. Using brute force on a man far above his station.
Miss Wallace’s eyes narrowed. ‘His place? His place was to help me when I asked. Which he did.’
Hargreave’s smile faltered. He had not expected her to defend the fellow. ‘Would it not have made more sense if you had asked one of Oxmont’s footmen? They would have known the land.’
One brow lifted. ‘Do you mean I should have pulled one of Lord Oxmont’s footmen from his duties? Gone off alone with a man I did not know,’ she retorted, ‘and left open the possibility that my sister would become the subject of gossip?’ She gave him what seemed like a patronising smile. ‘I am certain, sir, that you will not tell tales of why she went off by herself to join her brother fishing, but I would not depend on someone else’s discretion.’
‘You are right, of course.’ She was being troublesome. He intended to be in charge of her, not to make her a sparring partner. ‘I meant only to warn you about servants who attempt to become too friendly.’
‘I am certain your advice was kindly meant,’ she added, ‘but Lucas is the finest...butler our family could hope to employ.’ He did not know what was behind her words, but he intended to regain control of the conversation.
Dinner was announced and, as on the night before, Hargreave offered her his arm. In the dining room the table had been made longer than before to accommodate the newly arrived guests. Precedence dictated that he and Miss Wallace would sit near each other, but he just as easily might have been seated across the table from her instead of next to her, which would prevent any further conversation. Thanks to Lady Crawfurd, he had engineered the possibility of always sitting next to her.
As dinner progressed, the lady and gentleman on the other side of him began a discussion about titles.
‘This is Scotland,’ the gentleman said. ‘We are all Scots whether we have a title or nae. It is who you are that matters, not what title you inherit.’ He was an untitled younger son, but a member of the House of Commons and, thus, a man who fought for all Scots.
‘But a title is a measure of prestige,’ the lady said.
Hargreave joined their conversation. ‘A title automatically conveys respect, as it ought. We may all be Scots, sir, but we are not all equal. Superiority over the common man is proven in the possession of a title.’ He turned to Miss Wallace. ‘Would you not agree, Miss Wallace?’
She seemed to weigh her answer carefully. ‘I believe we are all more alike than we are different, no matter what our status. That said, I am intensely proud of my family’s heritage.’ She shrugged. ‘So, sir, I am all contradictions.’
He laughed, but it was the thought that the title would soon be his which kept the smile on his face. ‘Indeed you are, but charmingly so.’
* *
*
Mairi was relieved when the dinner was over and the ladies retired to the drawing room for tea. Her mother and Lady Crawfurd gestured for her to sit with them.
‘It looks as if it is going splendidly,’ her mother gushed. ‘He favoured you both nights! I am certain he intends to make an offer.’
‘He has money, you know,’ Lady Crawfurd added. ‘And he is the son of an earl. I could not be happier for you!’
Mairi attempted to diffuse their enthusiasm. ‘Do not put the cart before the horse, Mama, Lady Crawfurd.’
Lady Crawfurd patted her hand. ‘I have a feeling about this, my dear.’
And just as Mairi feared, when the men joined the ladies, Hargreave managed to sit next to her. After some inane conversation, he gave her that smile that had begun to make her cringe.
‘I feel a need to stretch my legs,’ he said. ‘Would you care to take a turn in the gallery? A nice walk up and down should do the trick.’
Her mother and Lady Crawfurd beamed.
She did not wish to spend any time alone with him, but she could not bear to sit idle in the drawing room either.
‘Very well,’ she said. At the very least it would afford her the opportunity to put a stop to his attentions once and for all.
* * *
Findlay sought out Lucas and the two men stood outside while Findlay smoked a pipe.
‘I have nothing useful on Hargreave,’ Findlay told Lucas. ‘Lord Crawfurd’s coachmen know only that the two families are friends.’
That much Lucas already knew. He told Findlay about his search for Davina that day and about William seeing Hargreave with her. ‘He saw only enough to give him concern,’ Lucas explained. ‘I confronted Hargreave about it—’
‘You confronted him?’ Findlay shook his head. ‘You are supposed to be a valet or a butler. You don’t confront them, sir. It’s akin to me confronting an officer.’
Lucas shrugged. ‘Well, I did confront him—rather forcefully, too. But he was taunting me. Speaking of the girl in a manner which was not to be borne.’
‘Do you think he seduced her?’ Findlay asked, drawing on his pipe.
‘Not yet.’ Lucas’s anger rose again at the thought. ‘I warned him off fairly sternly.’
Findlay exhaled. ‘Then I think it matters not what ye learn of him. You already ken he is a bad one.’ He peered at Lucas through his cloud of smoke. ‘But what of you? Are you in fair shape? Outside of skelping your betters.’
‘Skelping?’ Another foreign Scots word.
‘Striking.’
‘I did not strike him,’ Lucas clarified.
‘Are you in fair shape, then?’ Findlay persisted.
‘I’m no longer fevered, if that is what you mean,’ he answered. ‘I mean to see the Wallaces set in fair shape. After that I do not know.’ Truth was, he did not want to think beyond returning to Dunburn House after the party.
A maid came to the doorway and called out, ‘If ye want dinner, ye ought to come now.’
Findlay nodded to Lucas. ‘I’ll bid ye goodnight, then.’
‘I’m grateful to you, Findlay,’ Lucas said. ‘Goodnight.’
Findlay returned to the stables where their dinner would be served and Lucas re-entered the house. He made his way to the servants’ hall and took his place at the table along with the lady’s maids and valets and other senior servants of the guests. Lucas was definitely an outsider, even more so for being English, so, the conversation went past him. He did, however, notice Hargreave’s valet staring at him. Was he going to have a conflict with the valet as well?
When dinner was over, Lucas had no wish to linger and even less of a wish to confine himself to Dunburn’s room. He put on his topcoat again and went outside. It wasn’t long until he heard a man’s voice behind him call out, ‘Mr Lucas!’
He turned. In the dim light of evening he could not make out the person until he came close. It was Hargreave’s valet.
Lucas sighed and braced himself for yet another confrontation.
But the man stopped some distance away. ‘May I speak with you?’
Lucas nodded assent.
‘I overheard you and Mr Hargreave in the hallway today,’ the man said.
‘I saw you.’ The valet could be Hargreave’s witness to Lucas’s...rough treatment. That could mean trouble—for him and for the Wallaces.
‘You accused Hargreave of improper behaviour?’ the man challenged.
‘Not precisely,’ Lucas responded. ‘I warned him against improper behaviour.’
‘I—I wanted you to know—’ The valet hesitated as if unsure what to say. ‘I wanted you to know that such behaviour is common in him. Hargreave is not...gentlemanly.’
Lucas’s brows rose in surprise. He spoke plainly. ‘You think Hargreave capable of seducing a young girl?’
The valet’s voice grew stronger. ‘I know he is.’
Now Lucas was puzzled. ‘Why tell me this?’ Surely this was disloyalty.
‘I am fortunate to have this job,’ he responded. ‘But Hargreave is not a good man. I’ve seen it. With one of the young maids.’ He rubbed his face. ‘I have a sister in service. I wouldna want any man to take advantage of her in the same manner.’
If Hargreave ever discovered his valet confiding in him, no doubt the man would lose his job. Lucas stepped towards him and extended his hand. ‘I am grateful you told me. This confirms my suspicions.’
The valet accepted the handshake.
‘If you learn anything else that concerns you, I hope you will let me know,’ Lucas added.
The valet nodded and went to leave. He turned back. ‘The daughter. I’ve seen her. She is what he likes.’ He disappeared into the darkness.
Lucas walked behind the house, intending to sit on a bench in the garden until he must return to the bedchamber and wait for Dunburn. He heard a squeal and he could make out figures in the garden. It looked much like a game of tag, but he could not be certain. Two ladies. Two men. He moved closer. One of them dashed by, laughing. Not ladies and gentlemen. Girls and boys. It was Davina and, he guessed, the other young people.
‘Miss Davina!’ he called.
She stopped and looked around and laughed when she saw him. ‘Lucas! We are playing a new game. Would you like to play?’ She wore a shawl, but nothing suitable for protection from the chilly evening.
‘Should you be outside at this hour?’ he asked.
She giggled. ‘Elspeth says no, but who is to make us come in?’
‘Me, I think.’ He turned towards where he thought the others might be. ‘Niven! William!’
They all came to him.
‘You should go in before you alarm your hosts with your absence,’ he told them.
‘Yes,’ William said. ‘Lucas is right. We should go in.’
The other girl looked at him with worried eyes.
‘Elspeth,’ Davina said. ‘This is our—our butler, Lucas. He is acting as Papa’s valet, because Wilfred is much too old for the journey.’
‘Lady Elspeth.’ Lucas bowed like a proper servant.
They all headed to a garden entrance and walked through a labyrinth of corridors before entering a drawing room.
‘Miss Davina, one moment,’ Lucas said. He gestured for her to walk a distance away so he could speak in private.
‘Tell me what happened between you and Hargreave today,’ he commanded.
Her mouth opened in surprise. Then her cheeks coloured as if she were embarrassed. ‘How did you know—? Oh, I suppose Niven said I was with Mr Hargreave.’
‘Tell me,’ Lucas demanded.
‘He was taking a walk and I told him I was looking for Niven and he helped me find them. He was very charming.’
‘Did he behave improperly in any way?’
‘No!’ she protested. Then she changed her to
ne. ‘Oh, well, he was all flattery and nonsense like that, but I knew he was not serious, because he is going to marry Mairi. At least, I think he is.’
Lucas gave her a piercing look. ‘You are telling me the whole?’
She nodded her head. ‘Mairi would say I was acting like a flirt, but I was just practising. I think he was pretending, too, for a wee bit. Pretending like he was going to kiss me, but then we found Niven and William and it was all a game.’
It sounded more like a narrow escape.
Lucas held her gaze. ‘You must not play such games with Mr Hargreave, Davina. You must not be alone with him. Your reputation depends on it.’ He intensified his gaze. ‘Promise me.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, very well. I promise, but, I tell you, you do not have to worry, because he is sweet on Mairi, not me.’
He leaned back. ‘Remember. You’ve given your word.’
‘Yes...’ She groaned. ‘May I go now?’
He waved her away and hoped she had listened to him.
* * *
Mairi’s anxiety rose as she and Hargreave approached the gallery. No one else was walking through what was a long, dimly lit room filled with portraits of Oxmont ancestors and paintings by Dutch masters.
‘I am delighted you agreed to this little promenade,’ he said smoothly. ‘I have wanted to be private with you—’
Fear crawled up her back. ‘I did not know we would be alone here and you must see that it is most improper. I would rather see the gallery another time.’
Before he could argue, she started back towards the drawing room.
‘Miss Wallace, I had hoped—’ he started to say, catching up to her.
‘Mr Hargreave, we must return to the party.’ She did not have to explain.
They reached the corridor that led to the drawing room.
He touched her arm. ‘I wish you would wait a moment. It gives me such pleasure to be in your company.’
She brushed off his touch and faced him directly. ‘It is clear to me that you have sought out my company, both here and at Dunburn House. Why is that, sir?’
